Tanner’s debut fell short, nobody seems to like WWE wrestlers in the stands, Urijah Faber gets his recognition, and Anderson Silva can’t be beat. There’s a lot more, but I want to focus on a few thoughts from UFC 82 last night in Columbus, Ohio.
Jon Fitch had a hard time with his replacement oppononent, Chris Smith, but it was Evan Tanner who had the hardest night of them all. The middleweight fighter, absent from the octagon for nearly two years, made his comeback attempt last night against potential middleweight contender Yushin Okami. It fell just a tad short in the second round as Okami felled Tanner with a knee in the clinch. Is it the end for Tanner? Knowing his heart, I doubt it. Let’s just hope the UFC gives him a fighter who is a little more dynamic. The crowd wasn’t very excited to watch the somewhat boring Okami attempt to dance around a reluctant Tanner. But there’s a lesson to be learned - don’t underestimate the cautious fighter. Just look at Lyoto Machida.
So why don’t UFC fans like WWE stars in the crowd, but they’ll watch PPV events with WWE stars in record numbers? Brock Lesnar’s numbers from UFC 81 are showing one of the best numbers for the UFC ever, yet the fans overwhelm the arena with boos when a wrestler is given some camera time. I’m a little confused. Is there really that big of a difference between the live gate fans versus the PPV fans? As noted by the Wrestling Observer, Urijah Faber finally received some recognition from the fans. Perhaps the MMA crowd is starting to learn more about other (albeit UFC-owned) promotions?
A couple years ago, it was Wanderlei Silva who was the big name to beat. Now, it’s Anderson. After destroying Chris Leben, Nate Marquardt, Travis Lutter, Chris Leben, and Rich Franklin (twice), Silva was finally up against a new contender. Although Silva was able to submit Dan Henderson with 8 seconds left in the second round, it certainly wasn’t in dominating fashion similar to his previous five UFC fights. John Philapavage thinks an immediate rematch could be on it’s way. I’m thinking Dana White is shopping around for some more middleweights to bring in against Silva before allowing Henderson another shot at the title. Henderson, who showed that he was a formidable contender with his wrestling throughout the first round, may have to face off against Leben, Okami, Marquardt, or even the winner of Franklin/Lutter. We saw The Spider trap another opponent, but he still can beaten. Can the UFC find that guy?
Overall, the show was exciting from the PPV side of things. I was happy to learn that Arlovski stopped lay-n-pray wrestler Jake O’Brien, Heath Herring looked to be back in shape, and Leben showed his chin was still intact. I couldn’t really complain - 9/10.
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I do still love MMA and have...
March 2nd, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Decent night of fights. The crowd I watched it with made things a little difficult (shifting favoritism to whoever looked like they were gonna win). I was amazed that Anderson did what he did. I actually predicted his way of winning in the Matchup of the Year blog.
I have never seen Hendo shook in that manner. I wouldn’t mind seeing them go at again, but not quite yet. Let Silva seek redemption from Okami first.
I too was a little sad for Tanner, he is a guy I always root for, but the ring rust was apparent.
Fitch is going to be in for a big surprise against the winner of GSP/Serra. Both possess the skills to beat him (though Serra looks a little small to out-muscle Fitch). His fight last night showed he needs to sharpen his striking game or he will have no place to go with GSP. As for Serra, I could see him out-working Fitch, but time will only tell.
March 2nd, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I agree on all points. GSP looks like he is going to dominate the welterweights just like Silva is dominating the middleweights. But, crazy things have happened so we’ll see what goes down during UFC 83. Maybe GSP will fall apart in front of his hometown crowd and Serra will remain the champ. The fans would probably riot - apparently even people in Ohio don’t like him.
March 2nd, 2008 at 7:22 pm
I definitely agree, especially about GSP’s dominance. The fact is, if Koscheck and Hughes couldn’t stop him on the ground, who the hell is going to? Jon Fitch? Diego? Serra?
I mean, Serra has a shot because he’s a BJJ blackbelt, but I don’t think his wrestling is sufficient to get that fight to the ground, and unless Ray Luongo has some crazy surprise for us (which I don’t think will work, since GSP has been training, to the best of my knowledge, with Greg Jackson). Fool him once, shame on you… fool him twice… well… he won’t get fooled again.
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Serra has nothing for GSP. He had one lucky shot (every one has a punchers chance). If the stars, moon, and sun align again and somehow Serra wins again, then there is hope for Matt Hughes to regain the title!